Since my Senior high school year, when I taught Catechism to children in a downtown Los Angeles parish, I have always been active in our parish, wherever we happened to be living. I've been President of the Legion of Mary, Co-Director of RCIA and Lector, for instance. Around age forty-two I returned to college, getting my B.A. in Religious Studies from Mount Saint Mary's College in Los Angeles. During that time I also completed a two-year Archdiocese of Los Angeles' Certification Program for Spiritual Directors and have been a Spiritual Director for over 25 years. After completion of my B.A. it took me seven summers to achieve a Master's Degree in Spirituality from Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA. This required that I stay at Santa Clara U. for six weeks each summer, which I never could have done without the love, encouragement, and support of my wonderful husband and our five children who were still living at home. I graduated at age 52 with my M.A.
In 1988 the Passionist Congregation of Priests and Brothers hired me to be on the all-priest retreat team at Mater Dolorosa Retreat Center, Sierra Madre, CA. Prior to beginning my employment with the Passionists they sent me to Catholic Theological Union in Chicago where I was able to take two summer classes and meet with other lay people from around the country who were involved with the Passionist Congregation in one way or another. We were given a grand tour of Chicago, a visit to the Provincial House, and each evening our group met for further immersion in the history and ministries of the Passionists around the world.
I was the first woman to be on the retreat team in the history of Mater Dolorosa and had to preach (yes, preach!) every weekend during the retreat season, which was September to May. The weekend retreats were mostly for men, although we had about 4 women's retreats a year. The men had a challenging adjustment to make when a woman became part of the retreat team after sixty-plus years of "no women" on their retreats. Most accepted this paradigm shift; some few never did. During my years at Mater Dolorosa, apart from my ministry of Spiritual Direction, I provided special programs at the retreat center, primarily for women, but also a prayer group for men. Once a year I conducted a Day of Prayer and Reflection at Saint Andrew's Abbey, Valyermo, for parish secretaries of the L.A. Diocese. I was also privileged to assist a Passionist priest in conducting a pilgrimage to Italy during that time, visiting the holy places and shrines of several Passionist saints. My years at the retreat center were some of the most enriching years of my life.
Rueben was able to retire at age fifty-five after twenty-eight years with United Parcel Service. That was fifteen years ago. We moved to southern Nevada (Pahrump) in 1994 and in 2001 we moved to Gardnerville, in northern Nevada, where we live now. Gardnerville is an hour south of Reno and a half hour from gorgeous Lake Tahoe. Our valley is nestled against the majestic Sierra Nevada mountains where forest, lakes, rivers and waterfalls abound. At an elevation of 4,750 feet, we are blessed with the beauty and diversity of the four seasons. This is an ideal location for nature lovers such as Rueben and myself who like to spend as much time as possible outdoors hiking, bird-watching, and RVing. Two winters ago we took up snow-shoeing. We're proud of the fact that our small property has been designated a wildlife habitat, having complied with the specifications to be so designated by the National Wildlife Federation. Between January and December we attract at least 24 species of birds to our property.
My hobby is nature photography and earlier this year I won First Prize for a photo I took of a Bald Eagle last March. Bald eagles come down to our valley ranches to feed on the placenta of newly born calves. Local shops have sold my photo greeting-cards and some of my larger photographs.
At present Rueben has a four-day-a-week job at one of our local hotel/casino's as casino cashier. He's always been a people-person, so loves this job were he deals with the public. As always, I continue to be involved in our parish. For six years now I've facilitated two programs: Women's Scripture Sharing and a Contemplative Prayer Group for women and men. Five years ago I was elected Dean of the Nevada Chapter of Benedictine Oblates which is affiliated with the Benedictine Sisters of Virginia.
Sister Cecilia Mary was my piano and choral teacher during my years at Providence. I grew very close to her, as well as to Sister Alphonsa Maria, both being significant influences during my high school years. So much of who and what I became I owe to them. I stayed in touch with Sister Cecilia Mary after I graduated, exchanging many letters, which I still have, and an occasional phone call. A few years after I married she came to visit Rueben and I in our home. We had two children by then. When she was dying of cancer I flew to Seattle to see her. During that visit I also saw Sister Esther who had taught me, my brother and sister at Saint Finbar. I also got to see my 2nd and 4th grade teachers: Sisters Bernadette and Catherine.
Unfortunately, Sister Alphonsa Maria passed away not long after we graduated, so I never had the opportunity to thank her for all she did for me. Not in person, anyway, though many times in my prayers and heart. Academic non-achiever that I was (I hated school back then), it was at her insistence and intervention on my behalf to the Mother Superior of USD College for Women that I got accepted to that wonderful school. My grades didn't warrant admission to any college, nor did I want to go, but Sister Alphonsa Maria somehow believed that what had to happen was for me to continue my education, somehow shed my cocoon along the way, and the butterfly would emerge. She was right, against all my resistance and protestations. She spoke with my parents about "her plan for me," so between the three of them, off I went to USD to live and study for two years.
It's been wonderful to read about some of my former classmates here and I hope we hear from many more. However, it has deeply saddened me to read the names of our dear classmates who have passed away. May they be living in the joy of God's eternal love.
Our five children are scattered between Las Vegas and southern and northern California, making it difficult to get everyone together. However, I can include here a photo taken this past Thanksgiving weekend of our three daughters, the boyfriend of one, three of our grandchildren, Rueben and myself. Missing are our two sons, three grandchildren, and the son-in-law who took the photo.
With fond memories and best wishes to all,
Almita Jimenez Bey-Carrion
